NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Artemi Panarin, J.T. Miller, K’Andre Miller and Brett Berard scored and Jonathan Quick made 35 saves as the New York Rangers defeated the Nashville Predators 4-0 on Sunday night. Mika Zibanejad added two assists as the Rangers won for the sixth time in nine games. Nashville lost its second straight and fell to 6-20-4 on the road, keeping them tied with league-worst San Jose for fewest road wins. Quick — playing his 800th career game — recorded his third shutout this season and the 63rd of his career. Annunen made 30 saves in defeat.
Frederick Gaudreau scored the game’s only goal and Filip Gustavsson stopped 28 shots as the Minnesota Wild beat the Boston Bruins 1-0 on Sunday. Gustavsson posted his fourth shutout of the season, his first since Jan. 4 against Carolina. The Wild snapped a three-game losing streak. Jeremy Swayman made 21 saves as the Bruins lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Mark Stone and Noah Hanifin each scored a power-play goal in the third period, and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the New Jersey Devils 2-0. The Golden Knights won for the fifth time in six games. They extended their lead in the Pacific Division to four points over Edmonton. New Jersey fell two points behind Carolina for second place in the Metropolitan after the Hurricanes beat Calgary 2-1 in overtime. Both goals came off Hanifin shots from the point, with Stone redirecting the first one and letting the second go past.
William Nylander scored 1:00 into overtime, and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-5. Nylander, Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies each had a goal and an assist as Toronto earned its fifth consecutive win. John Tavares, Max Domi and Conor Timmins also scored. It was Nylander’s 35th goal of the season and No. 252 for his career, passing Bob Pulford for 10th on the franchise list. Crosby had a goal and two assists for the Penguins. He passed Bobby Hull for 18th on the NHL’s career goals list and Gordie Howe for 10th on the league’s assists list. Crosby has 611 goals and 1,050 assists.
Mark Stone and Noah Hanifin each scored a power-play goal in the third period, and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the New Jersey Devils 2-0. The Golden Knights won for the fifth time in six games. They extended their lead in the Pacific Division to four points over Edmonton. New Jersey fell two points behind Carolina for second place in the Metropolitan after the Hurricanes beat Calgary 2-1 in overtime. Both goals came off Hanifin shots from the point, with Stone redirecting the first one and letting the second go past.
Wyatt Johnson scored three times to help the Dallas Stars beat the St. Louis Blues 6-3. Roope Hintz had a goal and three assists as Dallas won for the fifth time in six games. Mason Marchment and Matt Duchene each had a goal and an assist. Jake Oettinger made a season-high 39 saves for his 29th win, tied for second in the NHL. Dallas won the special-teams battle, scoring a season-high four power-play goals in four opportunities while its league-best penalty kill stopped two of St. Louis’ three power plays. Zack Bolduc and Dylan Holloway scored for the Blues, who split a back-to-back and began a season-long six-game trip.
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Jalen Brunson scored 31 points and the New York Knicks overcame a 19-point deficit to beat the Miami Heat 116-112 in overtime last night. OG Anunoby added 23 points and Karl Anthony Towns had 19 points and 16 rebounds for the Knicks. They have won three straight. Brunson’s 3-pointer with 2:27 remaining in overtime put New York ahead for good at 111-110 and began a 7-0 spurt. Miami narrowed it to 114-112 on Alec Burks’ 3-pointer with 27 seconds left, but Anunoby had a dunk with 17 seconds to go to put it away. Bam Adebayo led Miami with 30 points. Tyler Herro had 22, and rookie Kel’el Ware had 12 points and career-high six blocks.
Jaylen Brown scored 22 points and Derek White hit a floater from the foul line with less than a minute left to help the Boston Celtics recover after blowing most of a 20-point first-half lead and beat the Denver Nuggets 110-103. Jayson Tatum scored 16 points with 11 rebounds and White scored 17 for Boston. The Celtics have not lost three games in a row all season. Nikola Jokic had 20 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists for the Nuggets. Jamal Murray scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, and Christian Braun scored 24.
De’Andre Hunter scored 32 points and made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 30 seconds left in overtime as the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied for a 133-129 win over the Portland Trail Blazers to extend their winning streak to 10 and become the first team with 50 victories. The Cavs were down 18 in the third quarter before fighting back to win for the 14th time in 15 games. They did it without All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, who got some planned rest. Ty Jerome added 25 points and Evan Mobley 20 for Cleveland. Portland’s Deni Avdija had 30 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double.
Once the whistles stopped blowing, Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome cried foul. Upset with an inordinate number of personals called during Cleveland’s 133-129 overtime win against Portland on Sunday, Jerome didn’t hold back in criticizing the officiating crew and zeroed in on referee Natalie Sago. Jerome said Sago was "really bad.” The teams were called for a combined 53 fouls and the Trail Blazers and Cavs shot 70 free throws — 35 apiece — in a game that never found any flow. Jerome will likely draw a fine from the NBA for his postgame remarks. The Cavs overcame an 18-point deficit to improve to 50-10.
Aaron Nesmith scored a career-high 27 points, Pascal Siakam added 20 and the Indiana Pacers defeated the Chicago Bulls 127-112. Nesmith shot 6 of 11 from 3-point range. Tyrese Haliburton had his fifth consecutive double-double for Indiana with 17 points and 12 assists. The Pacers, who outscored the Bulls 32-20 in the final quarter, had all five starters score in double digits. Coby White led the Bulls with 26 points, including 20 in the first half. Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis each had 18.
Immanuel Quickley scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half and the Toronto Raptors held on to beat the Orlando Magic 104-102. Franz Wagner missed a driving layup for Orlando in the final second, enabling the Raptors to win after going without a score in the final 2:52. A backcourt turnover had given the ball back to the Magic with 4.7 seconds left. RJ Barrett added 22 points for Toronto and Jakob Poeltl had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Wagner led Orlando with 25 points.
Jalen Williams had a career-high 41 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 31 and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat San Antonio 146-132 on Sunday night, spoiling the Spurs’ homecoming following a momentous road trip. Oklahoma City (49-11) won their third straight and moved a game behind Cleveland (50-10) for the league’s top record.Rookie guard Stephon Castle had 32 points to lead San Antonio, which has lost five of six.
Kelly Olynyk scored a season-high 26 points and had nine rebounds and the New Orleans Pelicans used a 15-0 fourth-quarter run to defeat the Utah Jazz. CJ McCollum added 25 points and eight assists, Zion Williamson had 24 points and nine assists and Trey Murphy III scored 20 points to help the Pelicans win their fifth straight over the Jazz. Keyonte George led the Jazz with 28 points and Brice Sensabaugh added 21. Oscar Tshiebwe had his first career double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Utah had won the five previous meetings with New Orleans in Salt Lake City.
The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Los Angeles Clippers 108-102 to win their rivalry matchup for the second time in three days. Luka Doncic had 29 points and nine assists, and LeBron James added 17 points. Rookie Dalton Knecht scored 19 points for the Lakers, who won their sixth straight game despite playing without injured starters Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. The Lakers have won 16 of 19 overall. Kawhi Leonard scored a season-high 33 points for the Clippers, who erased most of a late 21-point deficit before falling short in their fifth loss in six games.
Anthony Edwards scored 44 points, Julius Randle added 20 in his first game since missing more than a month with an injury and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Phoenix Suns 116-98 on Sunday night. Edwards scored 17 points in the third quarter as the Timberwolves took control, turning a two-point halftime deficit into a 83-72 lead heading into the fourth.
Joel Embiid is done for the season, at last shut down following the lingering effects of knee surgery. But plenty of hard questions remain in Philadelphia. There are no easy answers for team president Daryl Morey heading into the offseason and Embiid’s uncertain future only complicates any potential long-term success for the Sixers. This setback was the latest in a steady string of them with Embiid since the 76ers made him the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 draft.
SOCCER
Defender Sam Adekugbe scored early, Brian White scored late and the Vancouver Whitecaps beat the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1, handing the defending MLS Cup champions a second straight defeat to begin the season. Following the lead of some Canadian fans at hockey and basketball games, many fans booed during “The Star-Spangled Banner” in reaction to President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs and repeated remarks about making the country the 51st state.
Telasco Segovia, a 21-year-old making his first MLS start, scored two goals with an assist, 38-year-old Luis Suárez added a goal and three assists and Inter Miami beat the Houston Dynamo 4-1. After a giveaway by the Dynamo, Suárez tapped a one-touch pass from the edge of the box to Segovia for a first-touch finish from the right-center of the area that slipped inside the near post to open the scoring in the sixth minute. Tadeo Allende added a goal in the 37th, Segovia made it 3-0 just before halfitme and Suárez scored in the 79th to give Miami a 4-0 lead. Nico Lodeiro, who signed with Houston (0-2-0) last month, scored his first goal for the club in the 85th.
Manchester United has crashed out of the FA Cup in a penalty shootout defeat to Fulham. Victor Lindelof and Joshua Zirkzee had spot kicks saved after the fifth-round game ended 1-1 following extra time on Sunday. But United coach Ruben Amorim insists his sights are set on a bigger trophy. Amorim says “The goal is to win the Premier League" while adding “I don’t know how long it’s going to take." United great Wayne Rooney called Amorim's remarks “naive.” Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno was the hero as Fulham won 4-3 in the shootout and advanced to the quarterfinals. Danny Welbeck fired Brighton into the last eight with an extra-time winner against Newcastle.
SKATING
A star-studded group of some of the best U.S. figure skaters of the past and present took the ice in the nation's capital to remember and raise money for the victims of the midair collision outside Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Olympic champions Brian Boitano and Kristi Yamaguchi emceed the Legacy on Ice benefit event, which included performances by the likes of Ilia Malinin, Amber Glenn and Johnny Weir, as well as poignant tributes to the 67 people who died when an Army helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight and crashed into the Potomac River. That included 28 members of the figure skating community.
NASCAR
Christopher Bell passed Kyle Busch with five laps to go, then held off Daytona 500 winner William Byron to win NASCAR’s first road course race of the season at the Circuit of the Americas. Bell raced to his second consecutive victory after an overtime win in Atlanta a week ago. Once Bell cleared Busch, the Oklahoma driver had to make a desperate bid stay in front of hard-charging Byron and 2023 race winner Tyler Reddick of 23X1 Racing’s Toyota. Busch led 43 of 95 laps but faded to fifth to stretch his winless streak to 60 races.
GOLF
Joe Highsmith had to make a nervy par putt just to make the cut in the Cognizant Classic. Two days later the lefty from Washington state had the lowest weekend score at PGA National and is headed to the Masters. Highsmith shot 64-64 on the weekend and rallied from a four-shot deficit for a two-shot victory. It's the second week in a row for a first-time winner on the PGA Tour. Jake Knapp was trying to become the first wire-to-wire winner in tournament history. That ended when it took two tries to blast out of the water, leading to triple bogey.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Mount St. Mary’s 85 Siena 79
Iona 82 Canisius 52
St. Peter’s 57 Marist 52
Tre White had 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead Illinois to a 93-73 rout of No. 15 Michigan 93-73. Kylan Boswell and Kasparas Jakucionis each scored 17 points for the Illini who have beaten Michigan nine straight times. The Illini struggled to make shots throughout, but 19 offensive rebounds led to 30 second-chance points. Vladislav Golden had 22 points on 11-of-15 shooting for the Wolverines, who lost for the second time in four games. Michigan’s other four starters scored 28 points on 11-of-29 shooting.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Syracuse 82 Boston College 57
UConn 92 Marquette 57
South Carolina will be the No. 1 seed in the Southeastern Conference women’s basketball tournament after winning a coin flip. The sixth-ranked Gamecocks and top-ranked Texas both finished 15-1 in conference play. They split their season series, leading to a coin flip to determine the top seed for the tournament, which begins on Wednesday. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey flipped a coin from Birmingham, Alabama, during halftime of LSU’s game against Mississippi to determine the top seed.
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